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Showing 10 of 1890 results for how to register international groups
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PIF Recipient: Virtual Medical Coaching
In the United States alone, approximately 800 women die each year during pregnancy and within 42 days after delivery. More than 60% of those deaths are believed to be preventable. In developing countries, the rate of pregnancy-related deaths is up to 300 times higher.
An important part of the solution is education. Globally, midwives are in high demand, with the UK’s NHS increasing their places for student midwives by 3000, starting this year. Australia is also planning to increase numbers, while in New Zealand, a funding boost will increase the number of Māori and Pacific students training in midwifery.
While the demand for midwifery training is growing, education offerings haven’t kept up. Childbirth is deeply personal, and feedback from mothers – validated by hospital staff – is that they do not wish to have extra staff or students in the room for training. With no effective opportunities for face-to-face learning, there is a global need for a realistic and scalable childbirth simulation.
That’s where Virtual Medical Coaching’s vision comes in, supported as a recipient of the International Education Product Innovation Fund. Virtual reality (VR) software will provide a safe and controlled environment for students to see and assist in childbirth simulations, both with and without complications and in a range of different scenarios. As the student improves, the simulations they encounter increase in difficulty. A machine-learning algorithm enables fast and accurate feedback to both the learner and any tutors.
The simulation will be interactive and responsive, meaning that any action taken by a student creates a life-like consequence and reaction. The outcome is that learners are taught to effectively make decisions and problem solve.
Existing options for midwifery training include a physical mannequin simulator, but this can be prohibitively expensive, out of reach of many training providers, and doesn’t offer students maximum learning hours. In addition, existing options don’t include the ability to witness mechanisms like rotations/restitutions or the ability to have back and forth conversations. By contrast, the VR simulation will be available to students wherever they are, and whenever they need to practice. The nature of the VR experience means that modern learning styles, such as asynchronous and remote learning, are well catered for.
With support from the International Education Product Innovation Fund, Virtual Medical Coaching’s childbirth simulation is on track to become fully released by the end of 2024. A beta-version is already used by some educators globally. The Product Innovation Fund is a New Zealand Government-funded initiative to reimagine what a New Zealand education can look like and mean for global learners.
Managed by Education New Zealand Manapou ki te Ao (ENZ), New Zealand’s government agency for international education, the fund is supporting a range of pilot projects from existing and emerging New Zealand education providers. Together, the projects rethink how an education experience from New Zealand can be delivered, and create impact, for global learners.
For Virtual Medical Coaching, it’s about finding a better solution to a serious issue. Like many other innovative Kiwi education technology companies, Virtual Medical Coaching is designing technology that will create positive impact around the world. It’s already successfully developed an x-ray simulation for healthcare professionals which has won multiple national and international awards. Now, with the support of ENZ through the International Education Product Innovation Fund, Virtual Medical Coaching is set to respond to a clear need for better midwifery training options and develop another cutting-edge learning product for both New Zealand and offshore markets.
More information:
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New Zealand to be Country of Honour at China Annual Conference for International Education and China Education Expo 2025
CACIE is the largest international education conference in China connecting professionals, researchers and international education stakeholders. The 2023 Expo hosted 18 national pavilions, attracting 364 institutions from 34 countries and regions with a total of 28,980 visitors, including prospective students. New Zealand has participated in CACIE for 19 consecutive years.
The Expo is scheduled for late October 2025 in Beijing, China.
Michael Zhang, Regional Director Greater China, ENZ said, “Being Country of Honour is not only a privilege, it is a significant opportunity to raise awareness of New Zealand’s education offerings to China and a wide audience, including government leaders and officials, education providers, agents and students.”
The invitation builds on the momentum from high-level education engagements with China in the past two years since the borders reopened, including Premier Li’s visit to New Zealand in June 2024, and two visits to New Zealand by Education Minister Huai Jinpeng in 2023 and 2024.
China is New Zealand’s largest source country of international students accounting for 35 per cent of enrolments in 2023, and a top destination for New Zealanders on the Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia.
Zhang said, “Education links are an important part of New Zealand’s relationship with China. Being Country of Honour is an opportunity to support our international education sector to strengthen their links with Chinese counterparts and build new connections. This will help enhance student mobility, academic and research collaboration, and people-to-people links.”
Education New Zealand leads New Zealand’s education engagement with China and supports our providers in-market. This includes managing bilateral education cooperation initiatives such as high-level dialogues, sectoral forums, student mobility channels, national-level education events and research programmes such as the long-standing Tripartite Partnership Programme.
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Around the world in five
CANADA
Country briefing: Canada confirms travel exemption and emergency assistance for eligible international students
In a normal academic year, this week would have marked the end of classes for the winter semester at many Canadian universities and colleges, followed by a transition to final exams and the packing up of campus for the summer break. Needless to say, this year has been anything but normal so far.
AUSTRALIA
Int’l Student Support Network launched
The Australian Homestay Network has launched an Australia wide program called the International Student Support Network to provide short-term, heavily discounted homestay to eligible international students impacted by the global crisis.
GLOBAL
Measuring COVID-19’s impact on higher education
A new report from Moody’s Investors Services highlights the financial impacts of the pandemic on higher education institutions around the world.
UNITED KINGDOM
A day in the life of an online student
To further her business career, Charlotte Synnestvedt had to make a choice. She could either stay in her home country of Norway where her business education would be subsidised or she could apply for a leading business school overseas.
GLOBAL
Vouchers over refunds could save study travel sector from collapse
The study travel sector is at risk of imploding unless language students are obliged to accept vouchers instead of being given refunds for cancellations of their overseas study experience, industry professionals have told The PIE News.
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Assistance during COVID-19
International students are valued members of our community. We want to ensure they stay safe and have access to the information, care and support they need during this time.
Education providers, intermediary or community organisations and students can use the resources linked below to know where international students in New Zealand can find assistance if they are in urgent need of essentials like food, medicine or cleaning products.
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Around the world in five
INDIA
MoU inked to boost NZ-India partnerships
An MoU between the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and all eight New Zealand universities has been signed to facilitate the setting up of a New Zealand Centre at the IIT that will be a focal point of academic activity for both countries.
GLOBAL
Agile universities that partner will succeed, say edtech investors
The emergence of a new breed of digital skills schools – coding academies and technology bootcamps promising high employment rates after graduation in a matter of months – are not the threat to universities that some might argue, according to a panel of veteran edtech investors.
NEW ZEALAND
Report shows NZ universities' agent usage
The eight universities in New Zealand had an average agent recruitment ratio of 44.5 per cent in 2018, according to the latest benchmarking report on inbound and outbound mobility in the sector.
CANADA
Canada: new study permits issued up 13% on 2018 figures
Canada welcomed more than 400,000 new international students at all study levels in 2019, with Indian student enrolments accounting for the majority of the increase in new study permits issued.
GLOBAL
Making the link between housing and student wellbeing
According to QS’s 2019 International Student Survey, 60% of prospective international students were influenced by housing choices when deciding where to study abroad. And as QS notes, international students too often are unable to find suitable accommodation.
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Internationalisation remains a key focus for Education New Zealand
Under the inaugural funding collaboration with FAPESP, ENZ has pledged NZ $105,000 to nine research projects. Each project is led in tandem with academics from New Zealand and Brazil.
And for the 15th year, ENZ has supported the joint work of New Zealand and Chinese researchers through the Tripartite Fund. This year’s funding round provided NZ $20,000 to five projects (rather than the traditional NZ $30,000 to three) due to the ongoing COVID-19 travel restrictions.
As the Government is currently advising New Zealanders not to travel internationally, this funding was pledged on the proviso that the researchers either work together online or delay any international travel to a later date.
Internationalisation is a crucial part of the New Zealand International Education Strategy (NZIES) under all three pillars.
“Supporting and investing in international academic mobility is one unique way ENZ can contribute to this goal. We see short-term benefits, like person-to-person links and the strengthening of diplomatic relationships, as well as long-term benefits like increased trade flow,” says ENZ’s Chief Executive Grant McPherson.
Building international links between institutions can also directly impact their rankings. Times Higher Education recently released their Latin America University Rankings 2020, which featured seven Brazilian universities in the top 10. The Times Higher Education’s methodology includes five factors – learning environment, research, citations, international outlooks and industry income – all of which can be positively impacted by initiatives like the NZ-FAPESP funding and Tripartite Fund.
“Internationalisation is all about building and maintaining relationships. I am very proud that ENZ has not only managed to sustain this crucial link with China, but built new connections with Brazil.”
Over the history of the Tripartite Fund, we’ve seen positive outcomes across a variety of research areas including environmental protection and climate change, health and medicine, animal science, educational development, media literacy, renewable energy and the conservation and heritage of national parks. The partnership with FAPESP also started with relevant areas for New Zealand, like education, engineering, biological sciences and health.
It’s a mark of the high-quality and reputation of New Zealand’s universities’ that they all are able to enter in the Tripartite Fund and arrangements like the one with FAPESP.
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Around the world in five
(L-R): ENZ General Manager – International Lisa Futschek, China Education Press Agency Vice President Zhenhai Lei, ENZ Chief Executive Grant McPherson, China Education Press Agency Education Counsellor Zhixue Dong.
NEW ZEALAND
China Education Press Agency visit Education New Zealand
A delegation of journalists from the China Education Press Agency visited ENZ’s Wellington office recently to learn more about our role in New Zealand’s international education sector. The meeting also covered New Zealand’s high-quality education offering, student wellbeing, pastoral care, ENZ’s NauMai NZ information portal for international students, and the potential of the vocational education reforms in New Zealand to attract vocational students from China to New Zealand.
GLOBAL
Platform links students with creative schools
A new tech-enabled agency platform has been launched globally, allowing students to connect with creative arts and digital media institutions across destinations including Australia, Canada, the UK, the US and New Zealand.
CHINA
China unveils new push for excellence in undergraduate programmes
The Chinese government has outlined a plan to reform the quality of undergraduate teaching, courses and evaluation procedures at its universities in order to improve the employment prospects of students coming into the labour force.
AUSTRALIA
Short-term study abroad boosts prospects
More than four out of five Australian graduates participating in a survey believe short-term study abroad has had a “positive” or “extremely positive” impact on their career, according to a new report by the International Education Association of Australia.
GLOBAL
Where exactly are we with AI in higher education?
If 2019 could be defined by one term, it would be artificial intelligence. By 2030, AI is projected to contribute around US$15.7 trillion to the global economy, equal to the total output of China and India combined according to a recent PWC report.
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ENZ expands annual agent co-investment initiative for 2020
Successful proposals have been selected, and co-investment activities are already underway in Latin America and Greater China. Activities include counsellor training, virtual campus tours and a new digital publication for prospective students.
In the coming months, the selection process will begin in the Malaysia, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand and Philippines markets.
The selected education agencies will be running their co-investment activities between August and December, so that institutions are able to virtually attend activities or contribute information during what is usually the peak promotional season in-market.
The initiatives recognise that although students are not being recruited to begin study in New Zealand now, they are seeking information for study destination decisions which begin years before their international study experience commences.
ENZ’s agent co-investment initiatives promote a high quality student experience by supporting those agencies with proven high visa approval rates in our target markets, which is particularly important as students require transparent and reliable information on their study plans during COVID-19.
“These initiatives are a wonderful way to support ENZ recognised agencies (ENZRA), and the ENZ team is intending to continue offering them in various markets to keep the New Zealand story alive and nurture existing relationships,” says ENZ Manager Education Agents, Geneviève Rousseau Cung.
“They also supplement the global ENZ agent webinar updates being provided across all markets, and tailored ENZ workshops, seminars and training sessions for agents in priority markets.”
China
Education International Cooperation (EIC), one of the largest international education agencies in China, was one of the eight successful ENZRA agencies chosen by the selection panel as a partner in the Agent Co-Investment Initiative.
One of the deliverables is a press conference and promotional campaign for the 2020 Study in New Zealand Report that includes data from an EIC-conducted survey and an analysis of EIC’s internal application data.
The report is one of the first produced by a Chinese education agency and gives students and parents a clear guide to studying in New Zealand. EIC reported high praise from families and New Zealand institutions on the 2018 report, which is one of the motivations for continuing the research and press conference annually.
“I believe the data will provide some important information and thinking for ENZ and New Zealand institutions, and strengthen the in-depth understanding of the Chinese market,” EIC Director of Australia & New Zealand – Division of Student Recruitment, Celia Liu, says.
“To coincide with the release of this report, EIC will also invite New Zealand institutions to participate in promoting the virtual event on 12 September.”
Latin America
In Latin America, student interest in New Zealand has increased due to the excellent reputation gained since the beginning of the pandemic in March. In order to show our commitment to agents in-market, we’ve selected projects from 14 ENZRA agents:
- Five from Brazil (Australian Center, Information Planet, Up Study, Yazigi and YES)
- Three from Chile (Global student, Hain y Viaja Estudia)
- Six from Colombia (Babel Studies, Extudia, SEA, Student Connection and Viva en NZ)
The activities proposed range from the creation of a digital magazine for prospective students, online campaigns to virtual events, all of which began in July and will end in September. Some projects are also supported by a New Zealand institution, for example, YES Intercâmbio from Brazil is working with Massey University and Southern Institute of Technology (SIT), and Hain Chile working together with AIS and Western Springs High School.
At this time of uncertainty, other initiatives that are part of the ENZ Agent Co-Investment include contingency plans to account for the changing international education landscape. ENZ’s team in Latin America remains in close contact with our agency partners around any proposed changes to the submitted plans to allow flexibility and support while maintaining the integrity of the ENZ Agent Co-Investment Initiative.
“We are pleased to support and work with agents in these initiatives, which help to maintain the New Zealand education brand alive and relevant as we enter what is expected to be a hyper-competitive scenario in the next years,” ENZ Director of Education for Chile and Colombia, Javiera Visedo, says.
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From the CE: New Zealand higher education in the spotlight
Kia ora koutou,
Over the past few weeks, I have been abroad in both China and the United States promoting New Zealand education.
In late May I was delighted to attend my first NAFSA conference in San Diego, California. NAFSA is the world’s largest international education conference and this year it attracted over 8,000 attendees. ENZ supported the University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology, University of Waikato, Massey University, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Canterbury, University of Otago and Whitecliffe College at the New Zealand Pavilion. Our collective involvement with such a significant event provided us with a strong platform to showcase New Zealand’s unique education offering to a global audience.
Following NAFSA, I travelled to Connecticut to meet representatives of the Mashantucket Pequot nation, during which I had a useful exchange on indigenous-to-indigenous education and engagement. It was a genuine privilege to be hosted by this small, resilient tribe, into which my whānau has whakapapa links.
Last week, I joined the Prime Minister’s Trade Mission to China alongside education delegates from UP Education, Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology, and Victoria University of Wellington.
The Trade Mission was an opportunity to support the tertiary education sector’s engagement with China which is our largest source market of international students. The visit also reinforced at the Government and sector level our strong bilateral education relationship.
One of our key deliverables was an education event to promote New Zealand’s reputation for world-leading research and high-quality education at Fudan University in Shanghai. Fudan is one of China’s most prestigious universities and while there we took the opportunity to celebrate 20 years of the New Zealand-China Tripartite Partnership Programme. A wonderful outcome from the event was the signing of an MoU between Victoria University of Wellington and Fudan University that will see the universities resume student exchanges and pursue research cooperation in public health, biotechnology and climate science.
In Beijing, we hosted New Zealand Education Connect and showcased New Zealand as a study destination to our key partners, and alongside Prime Minister Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, we officially launched New Zealand’s Country of Honour campaign for the China Annual Conference and Expo for International Education (CACIE) which will be taking place later this year.
Finally, this month the results of the latest QS World University Rankings 2026 were published. New Zealand ranked first in the English-speaking world and fifth globally for the overall quality of its higher education.
The 2026 results see New Zealand universities improve across academic reputation, citation per faculty, and international student indicators. New Zealand also ranks the highest globally in terms of employment outcomes among key English-speaking study destinations.
This is a fantastic result for our universities and reinforces New Zealand’s position as a high-quality and welcoming international education destination.
Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō koutou
Seek after learning for the sake of your wellbeing
Ngā mihi nui,
Amanda Malu
Chief Executive -
Education New Zealand hosts first-ever NZ-China Education Week
Early Childhood Education Symposium
The inaugural New Zealand-China Early Childhood Education Symposium with China Centre for International People to People Exchange (CCIPPE), an agency under the Ministry of Education of China, was well-received by the audience of over 1,000 people.
ENZ General Manager – International, Lisa Futschek, provided opening remarks alongside distinguished officials from China who expressed support for the dialogue around ECE to continue between our two countries.
“It was very moving to hear Deputy Director General Xiaochun YANG speak te reo Māori in his closing remarks,” ENZ Director – Greater China, Miranda Herbert, said.
“The ECE Symposium highlights the special relationship between New Zealand and China and our long history of engaging in bilateral dialogue in a variety of education related fields to learn from each other.”
Educators tune into the ECE Symposium.
Part of the success of participation was due to CCIPE’s social media post which attracted over 8000 reads (pre-event). CCIPPE article with photos: 2020中国-新西兰学前教育研讨会在线成功举办 (qq.com)
The entire symposium was bilingual – no small feat in a virtual environment. ENZ used subtitles on pre-recorded presentations, interpretation for the live speakers and engaged a bilingual MC with experience in the ECE field.
University of Auckland Associate Dean International – Faculty of Education and Social Work, Marek Tesar, presented a session at the symposium titled “How ECE Teachers Shape Our Children: Fostering Quality ECE Teachers—Formal Education and Professional Development."
“A fantastic event, which brought together an interdisciplinary group of people to discuss the important topic of early childhood education. It has emphasised the many opportunities for ongoing collaboration between New Zealand and China and I hope that this is the first of many such symposia – hopefully in person next time!” he said.
Watch the recording
To view the recorded symposium, please log back into your ECE Symposium Attendee Login. Didn’t have a registration? Choose Attendee Registration and complete the registration on this website: https://event.dragontrail.com/NZedu/en
Once logged in, navigate to Floor Plan and click “Education Symposium 2020”
Then you will see this screen to click “Playback”
The Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) present at Sino-New Zealand Higher Vocational Education.
8th Sino-New Zealand Higher Vocational Education Conference
This year’s Sino-New Zealand Higher Vocational Education conference moved to a virtual platform this year which enabled continued dialogue between New Zealand and China.
Over three half-days, it focused on challenges and innovations in online learning and international collaboration for managers, teachers and researchers in vocational education and training.
Conference organisers, Wintec and co-organiser, Skills International worked closely with China partners Tianjin Light Industrial Vocational Technical College, Qingdao Vocational Technical College and Central Institute for Vocational Technical Education to deliver an engaging event for the live audience in Tianjin and the virtual attendees.
Agent Seminars
The Agent Seminars reached an audience of 500 attendees from across the Greater China region over two days.
Agents were welcomed by New Zealand’s Ambassador to China, H.E. Clare Fearnley, heard from Immigration New Zealand, Tourism New Zealand, and even learned how to order a green tea in te reo Māori.
With over 44 New Zealand institutions and regions exhibiting in the virtual exhibition hall, agents were able to connect through the virtual meeting rooms to have one-on-one conversations. ENZ trialled a virtual conferencing platform created for the China market that allowed our Chinese agents to join via WeChat and tailor their view to local language.
ENZ wants to thank all the exhibitors, presenters and attendees who participated in New Zealand Education Week to help make it a success and we appreciate your adaptability to a China-friendly virtual platform.
ENZ has received great feedback from both sides on the programme and future partnership opportunities – there is a strong desire to continue dialogue.
Watch the recording
Note, the Agent Seminars were over two days and the majority of presentations are in Chinese language.
To view the recorded seminars, please log back into your Agent Seminars Organization or Attendee Login.
Didn’t have a registration? Choose Attendee Registration and complete the registration on this website: https://event.dragontrail.com/NZedu/en
Once logged in, please navigate to Floor Plan and click “Agent Seminar Presentations”.
Then you will see this screen to click “Playback” for either 25 or 26 November.
